Editorial: Governor should take objective view of situation at Alabama State University

Nov. 30, 2012

Gov. Robert Bentley / (Montgomery Advertiser, Mickey Welsh)

A university president, new on the job, comes across some fiscal matters he deems questionable. He seeks additional information, which he says he doesn’t get. Before long, he finds himself placed on administrative leave by the executive committee of the very same board of trustees that hired him only a few months earlier. Allegations of possible impropriety are made, although they are short on specifics. Entrenched university administrators deny any knowledge of them.

If this were a rough plot outline for a novel of political and academic intrigue, it might be entertaining. Regrettably it is not, but is instead the situation facing Alabama State University as its board of trustees meets today, just days after its executive committee placed President Joseph Silver on administrative leave. Silver began work in September.

ASU is a public university and is accountable to the taxpayers for its use of public funds, just as any other public entity is. That makes the presence of one individual at today’s meeting especially important.

That individual is Gov. Robert Bentley, who is president of the ASU board of trustees by virtue of his office. The board meeting was delayed a day so that Bentley, who was in Europe on an industry recruiting trip, could attend.

To his credit, Bentley recognized the gravity of this situation, calling “the success of Alabama State University vital for me and for the state of Alabama.”

The concerns Silver has raised, even though lacking in specifics so far, are nonetheless troubling. In a report to the board last month, Silver wrote that he had “spent time reviewing contracts that various university staff have entered into on behalf of the university.”

“There are long-standing contracts in which the deliverables are not readily seen and accountability has not been demanded. There is much more to learn and address as it relates to contracts,” he wrote.

“I am recommending that an outside, independent audit be conducted of all of our contracts to determine whether or not any policies have been violated, whether or not there were deliverables and whether or not there was institutional value in the contractual relationships.”

Certainly Silver has yet to offer proof of any wrongdoing, but the reality is that contracts can be misused. They can be tools for political payoffs or for funding bogus jobs in which little or no work is performed.

If everything is on the up-and-up, it seems odd that Silver would have encountered resistance to his inquiries. If he didn’t meet resistance, it seems odder still that he would jeopardize his job by saying that he did.

Bentley will be the only person sitting at the trustees table who has no ties to ASU. He should be able to take a clear-eyed, objective view of the situation. He also should feel particularly keenly his obligation to the taxpayers.

If the issues Silver has raised are not addressed to the governor’s satisfaction, Bentley should not hesitate to call for an outside investigation. As for Silver, if he has evidence of possible impropriety involving public funds, he also has an obligation to the taxpayers to provide it.